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Install on macOS

SigmaShake works out of the box on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and newer, on both Apple Silicon (M-series) and Intel Macs.

Pro subscription required. Sign up at sigmashake.com/pricing, then run ssg auth login to activate your license.

Quick install​

Subscribe at sigmashake.com/pricing first, then install the CLI. Pick one method — they all install the same ssg binary.

curl -fsSL https://install.sigmashake.com | sh

Verify the install​

ssg --version           # should print: 0.29.19 (or newer)
ssg --help

First-run setup​

cd ~/your-project
ssg init

This does three things:

  1. Writes .sigmashake/ (governance rules) into your project
  2. Auto-detects every AI agent on your machine (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, etc.) and wires ssg hook eval into each
  3. Enables the macOS LaunchAgent so ssg daemon runs automatically at login and restarts on crash — installed at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.sigmashake.daemon.plist

You do not need to start a daemon manually, log in, or set any API keys. Tool calls are evaluated locally in <100ms.

Daemon control​

ssg autostart status    # is the LaunchAgent installed and running?
ssg autostart disable   # stop + remove the LaunchAgent
ssg autostart enable    # install + start the LaunchAgent (idempotent)

To opt out of auto-start during ssg init:

ssg init --no-autostart
# or set SSG_NO_AUTOSTART=1 in your environment before running init

Activate your Pro subscription​

ssg requires an active Pro or Enterprise subscription. After installing, run:

ssg auth login            # opens browser → accounts.sigmashake.com

The license JWT is issued automatically after payment and written to disk. No license key to copy or paste.

Subscribe at sigmashake.com/pricing. Pro is $5/month. Enterprise pricing on request.

Once activated, ssg provides:

  • Unlimited evaluations
  • All adapters (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini, Codex, etc.)
  • All built-in rules (security, destructive-ops, secrets, etc.)
  • Local audit log at ~/.sigmashake/audit.db
  • Cloud audit sync across machines

Check your status anytime:

ssg status
ssg flight                # last 24h dashboard

SigmaShake Desktop — the desktop app (optional)​

SigmaShake Desktop is a menu-bar app that wraps ssg for non-CLI users. It runs the governance daemon, surfaces approvals as native macOS notifications, and opens the dashboard in a webview.

Download​

Not sure which to pick? Click Apple → About This Mac → look at the "Chip" / "Processor" line.

  • Anything starting with "Apple M" (M1/M2/M3/M4) → use arm64 below
  • Anything starting with "Intel Core" → use Intel below
  • Unsure / on a shared Mac / installing for someone else → use Intel — it works on every Mac (native on Intel, runs under Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon with a small perf hit). The arm64 build runs on NOTHING but Apple Silicon.
MacDownload
Mac App Store (sandboxed, auto-updates — macOS 14+, Apple Silicon)SigmaShake Desktop on the Mac App Store
Intel (or any Mac, runs everywhere)SigmaShakeDesktop.dmg (Intel)
Apple Silicon (native, faster — M1/M2/M3/M4)SigmaShakeDesktop.dmg (Apple Silicon)

Mac App Store. The App Store app is free to download; SigmaShake Pro is a $5/month in-app purchase through Apple. Per Apple's App Review policy, sign-in with an external account isn't available in this build — an existing sigmashake.com subscription doesn't carry over, so buy Pro through the in-app purchase here. Note: the price shown in the App Store is authoritative and set in App Store Connect; this doc should track it.

Always-latest (bookmark for auto-update flows): the channel-stable URLs above are evergreen — Sparkle keeps your install current after first launch.

Install​

  1. Open the .dmg.
  2. Drag SigmaShake Desktop to Applications.
  3. First launch: macOS shows "SigmaShake Desktop cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software." This is a Gatekeeper warning, not an actual problem — Apple Developer ID notarization is in progress on our side. To bypass:
    • Right-click SigmaShake Desktop in /Applications/ → Open → click Open in the dialog. macOS remembers your decision; subsequent launches are silent.
    • Or from Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/SigmaShake Desktop.app"

What it does​

  • Sits in your menu bar (no Dock icon)
  • Click → Settings, Open Dashboard, Diagnostics, Quit
  • Health probe every 5 s — turns red if the governance daemon stops
  • Native macOS notifications when an agent's tool call hits an ask-mode rule
  • Auto-launches ssg daemon + ssg serve on startup; manages port hunting in the 5599-5603 range

First-run wizard​

SigmaShake Desktop opens a one-time wizard asking which profile to apply:

  • Personal — relaxed defaults, single-user, no audit sync
  • Professional — strict defaults, structured logging, prepares for team sync
  • Enterprise — fail-closed mode, license required, MDM-ready

For solo developers: pick Personal. You can change later in Settings.

Update​

The CLI auto-updates inside the version range. To pull the latest:

ssg update

For the desktop app, SigmaShake Desktop checks for updates on launch and prompts when a new version is available.

Uninstall​

ssg uninstall --yes                                              # remove ssg + ~/.sigmashake/
# Then drag /Applications/SigmaShake Desktop.app to Trash if you installed the desktop app

ssg uninstall cleans up:

  • ~/.sigmashake/ (audit log, license, daemon socket)
  • All .claude/settings.json files in your home tree (strips ssg hook entries)
  • Any ~/.gemini/, ~/.codex/ adapter configs

It does not touch ~/.cargo/, node_modules/, vendored crates, or other third-party stuff.

Permissions you'll be asked for​

PermissionWhyWhen asked
Allow Terminal to control "Finder"None — ssg does not request thisNever
NetworkOnly used if you run ssg auth login (browser-based)First Pro upgrade
NotificationsSigmaShake Desktop — native macOS approval promptsFirst time you open SigmaShake Desktop

ssg (CLI) does NOT request:

  • Microphone, camera, accessibility, contacts, calendar, photos, location
  • Network access by default (every operation is local)
  • Full disk access

Troubleshooting​

"ssg-hook-fast binary unusable" warning in Claude Code logs​

This message may appear if you have an older install that still has a ssg-hook-fast binary on disk. ssg-hook-fast is a deprecated legacy dispatcher that is no longer needed — ssg init now writes "<ssg>" hook eval directly, which invokes the Go binary. The Go binary does not have a startup-cost problem (it is a native compiled binary, not a Bun runtime). Run ssg init to migrate to the canonical hook command.

License not active after install​

Run ssg auth login to link the CLI to your Pro subscription. If you have already subscribed and this still shows, run ssg auth refresh to force a license re-check.

SigmaShake Desktop won't launch​

  1. xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/SigmaShake Desktop.app"
  2. If still failing, run from Terminal to see the actual error: 
    "/Applications/SigmaShake Desktop.app/Contents/MacOS/sigmashake-desktop"
  3. Check ~/.sigmashake/desktop.$(date +%F).log
  4. File a bug at github.com/sigmashakeinc/sigmashake-mono/issues

Other SigmaShake products on macOS​

The full SigmaShake product family — by macOS readiness:

ProductStatus on macOSWhat it does
ssg CLI✅ ProductionThe governance engine. Pro subscription required. Install via the one-line installer above.
SigmaShake Desktop✅ ProductionMenu-bar app for non-CLI users. Download from sigmashake.com/desktop or the .dmg links earlier on this page.
SigmaShake Voice⚠️ macOS install docs pendingWhisper-powered voice-to-text with global hotkey. All processing local — no API key, no network. The daemon is a pure-Go headless service; macOS packaging (launchd/Homebrew) is not yet documented. See voice.sigmashake.com.
ssg debug capture✅ WorksBuilt-in. Captures the SigmaShake Desktop UI to PNG for debugging. Usage: ssg debug capture --window <wizard|ade|diagnostics> (the desktop app must be running with that window open).
SigmaShake Gaze❌ Linux-only (v0)Webcam eye-tracking. macOS support is on the v1 roadmap.

SigmaShake Voice on macOS​

Whisper-powered voice-to-text. Press a hotkey, speak, text appears wherever you're typing. Free, fully offline, no API key, no account.

REWORK — macOS install docs pending. SigmaShake Voice is a pure-Go headless daemon (systemd --user unit on Linux; the retired Tauri/Rust .dmg builds are no longer shipped). A macOS install path (launchd plist or Homebrew formula) is not yet documented. Visit voice.sigmashake.com for the current download, or see the Voice section of the Linux install guide for the daemon install pattern.

What's next​